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Japan’s representative expresses regret

Five days after the collision between a Taiwanese fishing boat and a Japanese coast guard patrol boat near the Diaoyutai (釣魚台) islands, Japan’s representative to Taiwan expressed Tokyo’s regret over the incident to Ho Hung-yi (何鴻義), the captain of the fishing boat.

Koichi Ito, director of the General Affairs Department under the Taipei Office of the Interchange Association--- the de-facto Japanese embassy in Taipei--- visited Ho yesterday afternoon at his home in Rueifang Township (瑞芳), Taipei County, with personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ito said that the patrol boat Koshiki had not rammed Ho’s boat on purpose.

Ito did not use the word “apology” in his statement yesterday. He said, however, that the Japanese Coast Guard would compensate Ho as required by law.

On Tuesday, the day of the accident, Ito said the collision had occurred “in Japan’s territorial waters,” but said “the incident should be handled so as not to influence the positive relations between Tokyo and Taipei.”

APOLOGY WANTED

Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) told a press conference yesterday that although Japan had shown its goodwill by releasing the people who were aboard the Taiwanese boat and agreeing to compensate them, “we are not satisfied with Japan’s lack of a formal apology.”

“We will continue to work hard to obtain a formal apology from Japan,” Ou said.

He said the government’s priority was to resolve the incident and protect the rights of the fishermen involved.

“All issues regarding the dispute over the sovereignty [of the Diaoyutais] will be discussed later as we engage in further negotiations with Japan,” he said.

Earlier yesterday, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) visited Ho and said the government would file a lawsuit in a local court against Japan for detaining Ho for four days.

“We will help Captain Ho, who owns the boat, seek compensation for losses and an apology from the Japanese government,” Hsueh said.

“Since the Diaoyutais are part of the Republic of China’s territory, we will file the suit in Taiwan, on the grounds that the Japanese patrol illegally intruded into the country’s territorial waters,” he said.

TOUGHEN UP

Ho said the government must take a tougher stance and hold a press conference with foreign media “to tell the whole world of Japan’s arrogance.”

“It was entirely their [the Japanese coast guards’] fault. I did nothing wrong ... They rammed their boat into my small fishing boat on purpose. That should count as [attempted] premeditated murder,” Ho said.

Hsueh said he would help Ho obtain an interest-free loan to cover the damages and said the Executive Yuan would increase from three to seven the number of navy patrols protecting the nation’s fishing boats in its territorial waters.

Meanwhile, Representative to Japan Koh Se-kai (許世楷) returned to Taipei last night after the ministry recalled him on Saturday to report on his contact with the Japanese government over the incident.

Ou confirmed yesterday that the recall was a form of diplomatic protest, but said it did not mean that Koh would not return to Japan.

At a meeting with colleagues in Tokyo yesterday, Koh reportedly said that the ministry should “handle the incident rationally,” given that “maintaining good relations with Japan is crucial to Taiwan.”

The Japanese word for “regret” can also mean “apology,” said Koh at a press conference late last night after a 45-minute closed door meeting with Ou.

“In many instances throughout the history, Japan used the word ‘regret’ to express its apology,” he said.

When asked if the ministry would accept such answer, Ou smiled and said: “We can feel Japan’s good will in their response in this matter.”

Koh said that many people in Japan have expressed that they hope the incident will not damage bilateral relations.

Also See: DPP criticizes KMT over recall of envoy
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